10 Ways to Integrate Social Media into Everyday Class Lessons

In recent years, many schools have cautiously begun to let up the reins on electronic device usage. Countless teachers each year find themselves in hot water over inappropriate use of social media. I know teachers on both the pro and con side of using social media. Today, Amy K. Williams explores some of the potential benefits that you can have if you decide to integrate social media into your teaching.

10 Ways To Integrate Social Media In The Classroom

Far too often, we hear about all the negative aspects of social media and how it is harming our youth. It’s easy to dismiss social media as a resource in the classroom due to the tales of cyberbullying, online predators, and sexting. However, we need to realize our students enjoy using these platforms, because they are entertaining and provide creative outlets for communicating thoughts, feelings, and ideas. As educators, we can reclaim the thrill of learning by harnessing our students’ excitement for social media by integrating social media into our everyday lessons.

Create classroom accounts for every student to utilize for school activities only Unfortunately, a lot of illicit and negative behaviors surface on social media. Whether it’s cyberbullying or sharing inappropriate photos, students need to know that school is a safe place. By allowing students to create “school only” accounts, you will be keeping activities class friendly and bypassing a lot of stress and drama.

As a class, develop a social media and technology contract clearly stating expectations and consequencesThis is a great activity for students to begin discussing proper etiquette and the role social media plays in society. At the same time, we are garnering feedback from students about their expectations for peers and adults on social media sites. After creating the contract, students will have no doubts about how they should behave and what will occur if they break the rules.

Use social media accounts designed specifically for the class to post assignments, share notes, take polls, and provide links to additional resourcesThis will be a valuable tool for students, parents, and yourself. By allowing students the ability to access this information from anywhere, you are eliminating the hassle of forgotten worksheets, spelling lists, project rubrics, study guides, and assignments. Social media can keep everyone in the loop and maybe, just maybe, prevent a frantic late night call from frazzled parents.

Send children on a media scavenger huntWhether you are studying Civil Rights or geometry, encourage children to find visual representations that fulfill your clues. For example, use Instagram to challenge children to snap images of geometric shapes, angles, or combinations while using hashtags to make it easier to share photos. This can be an incredibly fun and rewarding way to extend lessons into the real world.

Take a field trip or connect with another classroom across the worldWe are no longer limited to direct lessons from textbooks or archaic educational film resources, because social media allows us to introduce and interact with people from around the world. As an added bonus, children can literally have the world at their fingertips with the ability to virtually visit anyplace.

Use social media sites to follow trending stories, uncover new research, or watch news unfold in real timeToday’s children can simply follow stories, scientists, reporters, hashtags, or news outlets for up-to-the-minute data and reporting.

Create social media profiles and posts representing or role playing as people from historyThis is a great way to make history come alive for students, allowing them to connect personally with figures, historical periods, and important events without falling asleep. Imagine the juicy tidbits Thomas Jefferson or Amelia Earhart might have shared on Twitter or Facebook.

Film or direct short videos using social media apps to address new concepts or historical eventsMost students enjoy using Vine, Dubsmash, or any of the numerous animation apps available today. Channel their inner Spielberg to develop meaningful content that allows them to process knowledge through a visual medium they enjoy.

Use Pinterest to create concept maps for different topicsPinterest is much more than artsy inspired challenges for the mom crowd. Pinterest allows students to organize data, resources, and facts all on one “board”. This can be a valuable tool and resource for research, writing, science concepts, and more!

Kahoot!This fun game based platform isn’t necessarily a traditional social media app, but it does allow students and educators the opportunity to engage, interact, and receive feedback similarly to social media. Students use laptops, tablets, or even cell phones to create user id’s, log onto tests, and compete with others in the classroom. Teachers can use tests already created or develop their own, which allows for an entertaining way to review and check for understanding.

3 Comments on 10 Ways to Integrate Social Media into Everyday Class Lessons

Nice one there. It is very sad in today’s IT world educational policies are not being made to include social media in content delivery. https://www.poeticeducationist.wordpress.com. Similar case is being addressed on this site.

very nicely explained although every student uses social networking sites..they are very much aware of the work to be done,the above article explained very clearly of how to use social media for educaiton..in fact that not every student will be engaged in class social group either they create a seperate group for their privacy or they wont discuss whole matter in the same group..anyways thank you for sharing this with us

Thanks for this informative post, Amy! You are absolutely right about the dangers and benefits of social media in schools. The idea of having students set up “school only” accounts is so common sense. There are so many positive ways to interact on social media, and modeling that in the classroom helps train good digital citizens. Thanks for sharing this post!